


I'll Be Here For You

by phoenix3



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bridal Carrying, F/M, Falling Asleep in a Car, Meeting the Parents, Nervous Saihara Shuichi, Overthinking, Shuichi and Kaede are both dorks, Supportive Akamatsu Kaede
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-17 17:01:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29103741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenix3/pseuds/phoenix3
Summary: Following a tiny misunderstanding with her parents and Shuichi, Kaede falls asleep on a car ride home and he has to carry her back to her dorm room.
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede/Saihara Shuichi
Kudos: 38





	I'll Be Here For You

“Shuichi!” Kaede yells, grabbing onto the handlebar above her seat. Their car abruptly stops midway through a left turn in the middle of the intersection. A car in the oncoming lane beeps at them as it quickly cruises on by. “Left turn. Yield. Remember?” 

The dark-haired teen nervously laughs as the oncoming traffic finally clears and he completes that left turn. “S-sorry.” He nervously laughs once more. A prolonged moment of silence is shared between the two as the car continues to slowly travel down the road.

“Everything alright? You’ve been awfully quiet since we left my parents’ house…” A few seconds pass by, giving Kaede the time to think before her eyes quickly snap from the passenger side window to the driver. “Oh my god, did my dad say something to you when we were leaving?” He stays quiet as the blonde continues to talk.

“Don’t tell me he threatened you or something… I specifically warned him not to do anything like that because I know he can get like that.” A groan leaves her throat as she becomes audibly disappointed. “Maybe I’ll have to have a talk with him soon.” 

He quickly interjects as soon as he hears of the potential bother he would cause her father that would result from his silence. “Ah, you won’t have to do that; you’ve got it all wrong, really.” Shuichi pauses, trying to find the right words that would avoid further questions from Kaede. 

“I just have a lot on my mind is all.” He turns his head towards the pianist for a split second before his eyes are glued back onto the road. “Don’t worry about it Kaede, I’ll be fine,” he adds reassuringly. His voice is shaking a bit at this point, and he hopes that it isn’t too noticeable.

It is. 

The detective feels her hand on his thigh and instinctively flinches, before relaxing into her touch. Something like this was common between the two, with Shuichi being the anxious and overthinking mess that he was and Kaede sometimes being a nervous wreck herself. A simple touch to the shoulder, thigh, hand or whatever was convenient to drag the other out of their thoughts and remind them to relax. 

Stopping at a red light, Shuichi closed his eyes and slowly began breathing in and out. He looks out at the overcast sky through the windshield in the midst of waiting for the light to turn green.

“It’s just that…” He pauses once more, unable to find the right words to articulate his thoughts properly. A moment passes by before he can fully recollect his thoughts in an orderly manner and by then, his foot is on the gas. “I’m worried that I wasn’t able to make a good first impression with your parents.” Embarrassed and almost if on instinct, he pulls down and hides behind the brim of his hat. 

His hands grip the wheel with a tighter hold as he awaits for Kaede’s response. However, a quick glance over at his girlfriend shows him something that he wasn’t expecting to see. She was trying to hold back a laugh: her hand covers her mouth as she tries her best to not look him directly in the eyes in fear that she would completely lose it. 

But she does, and he hears the laugh that had quickly become his favorite melody. “I’m glad I had nothing to worry about then,” Kaede says as she finally calms down.

“Huh?” He takes his eyes off the road for another second and sees a smile forming on her lips, which makes his heart skip a beat. 

“Cause they loved you, you dummy!”

“R-really?” Shuichi is genuinely surprised by her revelation, as his mind was telling him that he came off to her parents as a mess unworthy of being with their daughter. He had dropped a fork while carrying some of the dishes to the sink following dinner and was unsure if his attire was appropriate for the setting. Did his sweater come off as too casual?

“Of course, I wouldn’t lie about that sort of thing.. I’m not Kokichi.” Laughter fills the car as the mood lightens up.

“Hey. I know you’re working on it, but have more confidence in yourself Shuichi. It’ll be hard, but you’ve already been making so much progress! You were the one who decided you wanted to meet my parents after all, which is a big step in itself.” He nods to tell her that he was, in fact, listening to and taking in everything she was saying. 

“You just got to walk into any situation with your head held up high, and with the expectations that everything will turn out fine.” 

“Tell that to yourself the next time you’re getting up on stage to play the piano.” He says slyly without any hesitation. A smirk finds itself on his face as he can only imagine the look on her face. 

He hears a chuckle leave her lips before her fist playfully collides with his arm, which prompts him to laugh a bit as well.

With this string of events, Shuichi realizes that he really has grown as a person: before, he wouldn’t be able to casually joke around with someone like this. Before, he wouldn’t be able to share his worries and troubling thoughts with anyone. Before, he wouldn’t have ever thought that he would have anyone he could consider himself close to. That was before he met Kaede, Kaito and all of his other friends.

It isn’t long until he hears Kaede’s soft breathing in the seat beside him, telling him that she’s fast asleep. Today had been a day she had been waiting for, and to say she was excited for him to meet her parents was an understatement. Unable to control that excitement on the way there, she had blasted music from the aux cord on her phone, singing along to all the tracks while he would chime in every now and then if the lyrics seemed familiar. He could only smile at the thought of Kaede singing along to some cheesy love song, only to forget the words part way through and continue humming in an offbeat tone.

By the time the two arrive back to the campus dorms, it’s already dark. Streetlights illuminate the empty parking lot and path that lead to the housing while a frigid breeze bites through Shuichi’s sweater and contacts his skin. Kaede is still asleep in the passenger seat with her head leaning on the window, and her soft snores are a testament to that. With one look at the serene look on her resting face, the dark-headed detective decides that he’ll just carry her back to her dorm room; he quietly hopes that Maki hasn’t gone out for the night.

Cradling her head once opening the door, he unbuckels the blonde out of her seat and gets in position to carry her. Carefully holding her close to his body in a bridal carry, Shuichi slowly stumbles down the path. Following another gust of wind, Kaede shivers and cradles closer to him for warmth, prompting the teen to pick up the pace. The challenge of opening the door whilst carrying his girlfriend is a tough one, but with the strength from his workouts with Kaito and Maki, he’s able to do it.

Three light knocks echo throughout the empty hallway, followed by 30 seconds of overbearing silence until the door swings open. Maki’s face greets him with a deadpan expression and a “hey Shuichi,” before stepping aside and letting the two in. The brunette plops down at her desk and begins furiously typing away at her laptop, paying no attention to them. 

Shuichi places the pianist down onto her bed and tucks her in with care. Before taking his leave, he lovingly stares at the soft, peaceful look on her face and kisses her on the forehead.

“Goodnight Kaede,” in a voice barely above a whisper.

He wordlessly waves goodbye to Maki and tiredly makes his way back to his own dorm room. A sigh leaves his lips as he mentally prepares himself for the onslaught of questions Kaito is going to ask him about his outing with Kaede and her parents. Overall, he thinks, it wasn't as bad as he thought.

**Author's Note:**

> it's my first time ever posting something, and saimatsu is my favorite ship so why not. i apologize for any grammatical errors or any mistakes because i don't proof read anything i write lol


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